Want to take the first steps to creating your clothing empire from your home and unsure where to begin? It may feel a little overwhelming at first but this helpful step by step guide will help you forge a path a success.
Planning & research
Think about your objectives and set smart goals with measurable KPIs so that you are collecting robust data.
Strategy should never stay the same. Especially when entering a volatile market, it’s important to evolve your strategy using this data. Making iterative amends and improvements based on evidence of what worked and more importantly what didn’t, is essential to succeed.
If you want to take your venture into the stratosphere it is essential to understand the ins and outs of your market environment, who currently dominates and how did they achieve that status?
Designs
Keep it simple, this will not only help make a great first impression but will also make it easier when moving to a different material, as different fabrics can hold ink better than others!
Keep it relevant and appropriate, it is important to portray what you do through your designs, if you have a brand message then try including it in your ideas.
Stand out, this one is simple but can be make or break. Remember this market is tough so having designs which stand out, for the right reasons, will be key to your future success.
Drop ship or stock up
You have almost everything to start your Home-Based T Shirt Printing Business, you now need to decide how to get your goods to the customer. Here you have a few options;
Invest in a screen printer – This method would give you complete control of the entire process, but will require capital to buy the equipment and stock and could be some time before you see a return on your investment, and if space is an issue then filling your home with stock might not appeal to you.
There are a number of companies out there who specialise in printing clothing such as Banana Moon, which enables you to upload your designs and create the garments to order. This method could increase shipping time and potentially the cost of the garments, but it means you don’t need to hold lots of stock, and you can guarantee the quality every time.
Marketing
Marketing your business is essential, otherwise, how will you attract potential customers? This needs to be taken seriously from day 1 otherwise you risk having the best products available, and nobody knowing.
Marketing is tough but doesn’t have to be impossible as there are plenty of online resources to research. Defining your target audience will help in this process as it will steer your future marketing
Retain & grow
A key to business success is retaining customers, as without them, growth will be tricky. At first you may need to incentivise customers to return, but as you grow, and your brand develops your reliance on this will decrease. Expanding your range and trying out new ideas is always a great way to grow your business, but bear in mind what you think is great, customers may not agree with.
Now you have the relevant steps to starting your Home-Based T Shirt Printing Business you are well on your way to taking the next steps to launching your business and unleashing your entrepreneurial spirit.
